Case study – Vince – theInformationHub provided me with an anonymous and easy way to get answers to my questions

Vince is extremely hard of hearing which can make it difficult for him to communicate with people especially on the telephone. He has found the situation is made worse when he has to listen to complex information or instructions. His friends are always happy to assist him and this generally works well.

Having successfully applied for and been offered a driving job, his new employers had asked him to give them access to his driving licence. Vince had been convicted of a drink driving offence in 2011 and was concerned that if it was disclosed on his licence, his employers would revoke the job offer. He was keen to find out what his employers would see but didn’t want to seek the help of his friends who knew nothing about his driving conviction.

As a result of a Google search, Vince came across our information site and was able to quickly establish that his conviction was spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. The site also explained that his conviction would remain on his driving licence for 11 years but, for the purposes of employment, he would be able to give his employers consent to access his licence via the DVLA Shared Driving Licence Service which would not disclose spent convictions.

Vince was reassured that he did not need to disclose his conviction to his employers and there was no way that they would find out from his licence.

Vince said:

“I was so pleased to have found Unlock’s information site which enabled me to find out what I needed to know without having to get my friends to ring up for me. I’ve used the site many times since and have already managed to secure a much cheaper insurance policy by using one of the brokers from Unlock’s list”.

Lessons

We sometimes forget how difficult it is to find information if you have any physical impairments or issues around literacy and numeracy. Unlock tries to help people in overcoming these barriers by providing a wide range of communication channels. In this case, Vince was able to find information himself without having to rely on friends/family. Individuals with literacy problems may prefer to telephone our helpline and speak to an advisor who can offer clear and concise answers over the telephone.